Big, evil industries funded…which party?
Now that election 2010 is over, let’s go back over to OpenSecrets and look at which evil corporations stole our democracy and bought Congress for the Republicans — the RepubliCorp!
First suspect: the military-industrial complex!
•Defense Contractors: 55% Democrat, 44% Republican ($18 million) Oh, really? Well, then, it must have been Wall Street! That’s it: Wall Street bought Congress for the GOP!
•Securities & Investment: 53% Democrat, 46% Republican ($8.2 million) Oh. Well, even if Wall Street as a whole preferred Democrats, it must have been the real bad guys, those risky Hedge funds and exotic investors…
•Hedge Funds: 53% Democrat, 46% Republican ($6.8 million total)
•Venture Capital: 64% Democrat, 40% Republican ($6.4 million)
•Private Equity: 56% Democrat, 43% Republican ($4.6 million)
Huh. Well, then, it must have been the big health insurers and for-profit hospital corporations! They didn’t want reform! I know because I heard President Obama say so at least 64 times!
•HMO/Health services: 58% Democrats, 40% Republicans ($9.4 million)
•Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: 51% Democrats, 48% Republicans ($10.4 million)
•Medical Supply: 57% Democrats, 42% Republicans ($4.4 million)
•Hospitals/Nursing Homes: 63% Democrat, 36% Republican ($14.9 million)
Huh. Well…then it must have been those evil lobbyists that President Obama has been fighting against ever since he got to Washington! That’s it!
•Lobbyists: 65% Democrat, 34% Republican ($23.5 million)
What? You mean all that time I’ve spent watching Keith Olbermann hasn’t taught me any real facts???? You mean my head is now full of garbage and White House propaganda?
For good measure, here are a few industries that did, in fact, support Republicans (although most of them by narrow margins).
•‘Tonsil Thieves‘ (Dentists): 37% Democrat, 62% Republican ($5.3 million)
•Health professionals: 48% Democrat, 50% Republican ($55 million)
•Credit/Finance: 48% Democrat, 52% Republican ($5.8 million)
•Commercial Banks: 41% Democrat, 59% Republican ($15.4 million)
•Insurance (Health, life and property): 48% Democrat, 52% Republican ($31.2 million)
•Agribusiness: 41% Democrat, 58% Republican ($40 million) The challenges I see ahead for the new GOP House will be (1) reining in Agribusiness subsidies and (2) forcing banks to live without hope of future bailouts. The first is probably the bigger challenge, at least in the short run.